Fergie does that Mourinho 'everyone is agaist us, officials are a conspiracy' siege mentality psychology thing better than the special one. And in a way that doesn't go stale after a couple of seasons. The reason I think it has worked so long for Fergie is he really believes it. He doesn't pretend to hate the BBC for the sake of his team, it's a genuine complex - not a calculated technique.

I remember Strachan saying years ago that he knew plenty of bitter old men back in Glasgow who had Fergie's no compromises mentality and it had eaten them up inside and destroyed them. That kind of mentality can mess you up if you aren't in a position to channel it.